In this month’s poll—the first in a series—we note that the populists are out in force. Or, rather, are inside and answering their phones. Of all those polled, more than half said, Yeah, sure, go right ahead and raise taxes to 50 percent or higher on the very wealthiest; 43 percent said they would consider becoming “Wal-Mart patients” (that is, they would take advantage if the chain offered basic health-care services); and, speaking of Wal-Mart, 48 percent felt that the chain “best symbolizes America today.” True, some of those people might have meant that cynically. (But only a cynic would really think that.)

Click here](/magazine/2009/11/60-minutes-poll200911.html?currentPage=2) to view the complete results, or to answer the questions yourself, visit the 60 Minutes homepage at CBSNews.com.

A tip of our hat to the 5 percent who support the installation of scales at restaurants. But would it really help solve America’s obesity problem? Who knows?—but we do applaud its potential as entertainment spectacle, and appreciate the welcome jolt it would give the tired concept of “dinner theater.” (As for the idea of a “tax credit for liposuction”—supported by 4 percent in the poll—we’re less enthusiastic. We say: introduce suction-assisted fat removal to partisan-politics-as-usual at your peril, because, remaining-shreds-of-dignity-wise, everyone loses.)

Are there any dubious conclusions to be drawn about the entire 18-to-29 generation, based solely on its response to the Twitter question? Is that a dare? O.K.: the percentage that called it an “important new tool” was the highest (22 percent) of any age group, and the percentage that felt it was “a fad that will fade” was also the highest (51 percent) of any age group. In other words, the 18-to-29s believe in Twitter’s importance and its inevitable obsolescence, making them &hellip; what? Brooding and pessimistic? Wise beyond their years? Too busy tweeting to grasp the question?

And what a shock, incidentally, to note that only 15 percent of the oldest group (64+) responded with “What’s Twitter?” This suggests that almost all of the geezers (not just the ones in Congress) have at least heard of Twitter. Not bad.

We asked what has been hardest to cut back on in these difficult economic times, and 33 percent (the highest) said “dining out,” while 4 percent (the lowest) said “alcohol.” In other words: Eat, Don’t Drink, and Be Wary (of the scales-for-diners movement noted above).

No surprise that men saw George Clooney and Barack Obama as people whose lives they’d happily swap theirs with, or that women felt that way about Michelle Obama. (Small surprise, maybe, that only 3 percent of women over 64 want to be Beyoncé.) But what could it mean that roughly twice as many women as men weren’t even interested in any particular fantasy switch (33 percent versus 17 percent)? Well, that Thurber story wasn’t called “The Secret Life of Walterina Mitty,” was it?

Wal-Mart has said that it is considering the addition of swine-flu, or H1N1-flu, vaccination stations to some of its 4,000 mega-stores across the country. IF WAL-MART OFFERED HEALTH-CARE SERVICES—such as flu shots, dental, eye, or basic check-ups—would you consider becoming a Wal-Mart patient?